Former addict to sue Yard

A reformed drug addict has won legal aid to challenge police over their decision not to arrest most cannabis users.

The former addict claims the police have no right to implement guidelines which tell officers they should only arrest people for using the drug in extreme circumstances.

Patrick Strahan is to sue Scotland Yard over the "softly, softly" approach to the drug, which has been backed by Home Secretary David Blunkett and was drawn up by England's most senior officers shortly before the drug was downgraded from class B to class C.

He will take action against the borough commander of Lambeth, Chief Superintendent Richard Quinn, in a bid to force him to arrest all cannabis users.

Lambeth was the first place in the country to adopt the controversial experiment pioneered by Commander Brian Paddick

in 2001. Under new rules based on Mr Paddick's experiment, police confiscate cannabis from adult users and issue a warning rather than prosecute.

They only arrest people smoking near schools, repeatedly breaking the law or flaunting the drug in front of police. More resources are thereby available to tackle "hard" drugs.

But Mr Strahan claims the public have become the victims of a crime explosion in Lambeth. He will argue that the use of cannabis remains inextricably linked to crime, and that the Government is obliged to protect citizens from lawlessness.

The claim comes after recent figures showing the number of people being caught with cannabis in Lambeth has increased threefold since police introduced the more lenient approach.

According to High Court papers seen by the Evening Standard, Mr Strahan will also sue the Association of Chief Police Officers, which drew up the guidelines.

He will use a ruling made by one of England's most famous judges to argue that the police have no power or constitutional authority to introduce a policing policy that "dismembers" the law.

His case will be based on a 1963 judgment by Lord Denning when police were sued after declining to enforce the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 because it was unpopular. Lord Denning ruled that police had to enforce the law and detect crimes.

Mr Strahan, who lives in Brixton, will also say that the Home Secretary's relaxation of cannabis from a class B to class C drug earlier this year has led to greater use among children.

Many young people believe cannabis is now legal, he says.

The 41-year-old, recently rehabilitated after a 23-year battle with drugs, claims he moved on to harder substances after first using cannabis at the age of 18. He now works on a project for socially excluded youngsters at risk of offending.

The case comes after the Evening Standard revealed massive confusion over the law on cannabis as it was downgraded to class C in January. Only days before the reclassification, Scotland Yard chief Sir John Stevens admitted there was a "massive amount of muddle" about the official position on the drug.

However, he defended former Lambeth commander Paddick's decision to question the drug laws, saying police were wasting time prosecuting people for possession of the drug only for them to receive small fines or be let off altogether.